Mountain Meadows, Historic site in Washington County, Utah.

Mountain Meadows is a broad valley floor of dry tan and straw-colored grass in Washington County, Utah, sloping up to a dark green forested ridge. A thin line of green trees and shrubs crosses the middle of the valley, with a few pale green bushes standing isolated on the open grass below the treeline.

Mountain Meadows was a resting and grazing stop on the Old Spanish Trail and later the Mormon Road between Utah and California. Mormon settlers founded Hamblin east of Holt Canyon in 1856. On 11 September 1857 the Mountain Meadows Massacre took place here; the surviving children were first taken in by families in Hamblin. A memorial at 37°28′32″N 113°38′37″W marks the site.

The site documents through monuments and plaques the relationships between settlers, Native Americans, and religious communities during territorial Utah. Visitors can explore how these different groups coexisted and interacted in this region.

The grounds are open year-round and feature informational plaques throughout the site. Guided interpretive programs are available to help visitors learn more about what happened here.

Mountain Meadow once ran about 10 miles, from Holt Canyon north to the upper reach of Magotsu Creek, with more water and grazing than today. Overgrazing caused erosion and a falling water table, drying springs and degrading the grass. Hamblin, the 1856 Mormon settlement east of Holt Canyon's head, was abandoned by 1905.